South Australia’s City of Mitcham and Deaf SA have developed a series of guidelines aimed at assisting Local Government to create deafness friendly cities.
In 2007, Mitcham in collaboration with Deaf SA commenced the Deafness Friendly City Project, which is funded by the Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) Research and Development scheme. Through the project, Council has worked with local businesses, service providers, individuals, carers and family members to establish a series of guidelines, titled ‘Access Friendly Cities – Building Bridges for the Hearing Impaired and Deaf Community’.
The guidelines provide insight and practical solutions to make all cities and regions more hearing impaired friendly.
Mitcham CEO, Ron Malcolm, said that this is the first Local Government deafness friendly city project in Australia, which importantly addresses the many issues faced by individuals who suffer from hearing loss.
“Hearing loss is the second most prevalent health condition in the country, with over 3.55 million Australians experiencing hearing loss,” he said. “The outcomes from this project are hoped to have a powerful influence on the lives of thousands of South Australians who suffer from hearing loss.”
Ron Malcolm said Mitcham’s ageing population reinforces the need to develop an environment that enhances the ability of the hearing impaired to access and enjoy their community now and in future years.
“Hearing loss impacts on a person’s ability to communicate effectively,” he said. “Without this skill, socialising, working and undertaking daily activities is difficult and sometimes impossible.”
With over 85 per cent of people with hearing loss untreated, Ron Malcolm said strategies for addressing this social issue must be implemented.
“The deafness friendly city project highlighted many challenges that need to be addressed, particularly in the area of the hearing impaired individuals who are in denial about their condition and thus, are difficult to identify and engage,” he said. “Councils must become civic leaders in addressing these issues, and creating an inclusive, supportive and responsive environment for this overlooked community group.”
The Deafness Friendly City guidelines outline a five phase strategy for Local Governments to create deafness friendly communities.
Phase one encourages councils to develop and gain ownership of their own strategy, by establishing reference groups with internal and external customers, such as local businesses and service providers.
Under phase two, councils should audit all civic buildings to identify priority requirements for installation of hearing loops, FM linked systems or other technologies to support hearing access in existing council facilities. These should be installed in phase three of the strategy.
Phase four ensures sustainability of the strategy and continual improvement by adapting council policies and procedures, training procedures and strategic priorities.
The final phase involves encouraging the community through leadership.
Copies of the guidelines are available from the City of Mitcham website at www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au
For further information, please contact Mitcham’s Social Planner, Joe Noone, on (08) 8372 8802.
